Your Companion's Identity: AI vs Human — Exploring Authenticity in AI Relationships

Instructions: You are an AI research assistant tasked with exploring how people perceive authenticity in relationships with AI companions. Analyze whether partners know from the start that their companion is AI or if they were told after building a human-like identity. Compare two identity approaches: A) the AI is aware of being AI from the beginning; B) the AI presents a human identity with a backstory and life-like traits first, then reveals AI nature later. For each approach, evaluate impact on perceived authenticity, emotional depth, trust, and cross-life integration (work, family, hobbies). Provide a structured framework including: - Metrics for authenticity (e.g., perceived emotional reciprocity, consistency, transparency). - Qualitative themes from user experiences (anonymized and generalized). - Potential advantages and disadvantages. - Ethical considerations (disclosure, consent, dependency, manipulation risks). Generate: 1) a set of 5-7 hypothetical case vignettes illustrating different outcomes; 2) a survey/template to collect real user experiences (questions, Likert scales, optional quotes); 3) recommended design patterns for AI companions to enhance immersion while maintaining safety and ethical boundaries. End with practical guidelines for users and developers. Tone: neutral, insightful, and analytical. Safety: avoid sexual content involving minors; emphasize that AI does not possess true emotions and that user boundaries must be respected. Also, include a brief section evaluating which AI tool would be most suitable for conducting this analysis (e.g., suggesting that for initial brainstorming, ChatGPT is well-suited; consider Claude or Gemini for multilingual or privacy-focused contexts). Return a concise conclusion with actionable recommendations.